The Grange As An Art Museum
By the turn of the 20th century, it was decided that Toronto should have an art gallery, much like many other major cities at the time (the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, etc.) By 1900, local artist George Reid was the president of the Ontario Society of Artists and was pushing for the creation of an art gallery. Between Reid and Edmund Walker (prominent banker and champion of the arts), a campaign was established to raise money for the gallery scheme. In 1902, the Smiths joined the cause and decided to bequeath the Grange as the first location of the Art Museum of Toronto. It wasn’t until 1913 that the museum held its first exhibition, composed of Smith’s own collection. By 1966, The Art Museum of Toronto was renamed the Art Gallery of Ontario and The Grange now sits on the south side of the larger AGO building.
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